On Movicol daily, trying to potty train but doing poos in pants

[ballynacargy]

My d is 3 and has been on Moviicol for over one year, I'm now trying to potty train with very mixed results. She will not, however, do her poo in the potty, will withhold all day but dirty her pants 4 5 times daily with trying to keep the poo in. How do I encourage her to do it in the potty, she will pee. She is not constipated as movicol keeps her moving! Any advice, tips on encourging her to use potty and not withhold her poos, will let go more in the night time nappy which we still use for bedtimes.

Thanks any advice ......

Tis a hard one. (or maybe not, with the movicol )

My boy is on Movicol too, and although fully toilet trained will only pooh in a pull up pant. Have you tried reward charts, distraction ect?

Let us know how you get on.

Movicol mum here too
I'd say bide your time and let her do what she has to. From what I've been told by dd's consultant and from my own research, their bowl can take almost as long to return to it's origional intended 'normal' as it took to loose the plot - which for my dd makes it about 2 years!!

She may genuinely not be getting the poo time signal from her bowl due to chronic constipation knocking them off.

Then when she did [pre movicol] get the signals the resulting poo would have told her too big, too painfull, bugger that - so she just holds on out of absolute training.

It's like they are already trained in potty and toilet just in the completely opposite way to how non constipated people are!

My advice, and scheme around my house, for what it's worth is just give time time time adn let them retrain very very gradually, becasue we are waiting fort he gut and bowl to do it for them really.

And apologies for complete disaster typos!!

Boyo's been on Movicol now since he was 16 months old - prescribed by pead - and he was 4 in September. We fluctuate anywhere between 2 and 8 sachets a day, as well as Sodium Picosulphate and suppositries. We've been to the open childrens unit at the hospital several times because he's been so bunged up - that time they gave him 12 - yes 12! sachets in one glass of juice to try and help him go - it'd been 16 days that time.

Sigh. He's constipated because of a lump at the top of his butt-crack that presses against the nerve going to his bowel (had MRI scan last July to find this out). Unfortunately, the nerve also goes to his legs and it's too dangerous to try and remove it. So until the time comes(and hoping in one way it doesn't) where his nerves to his legs become affacted by this lump, we just have to put up with it.

We've just been allocated a 'constipation nurse' to help us manage his constipation. Apparently she's going to help us come up with ideas and ways to manage his constipation. Well i've been dealing with it myself for almost four years, so i can't wait to see what pearls of wisdom she's going to come out with.

Sigh.

Oooohhh - that was in no way relevent to the OP... but 'twas strangely cathartic

Dear God Deemented what you and ds must have been through. I can reduce my self to tears worrying about my dd and how it must have been for her pre movicol days so you have my full respect lady!

Ah we just get on with it treedelivery it's become so much a part of our lives now that we're used to it.

The one thing that worries me most though is that he's starting full time school come September, and with him only pooing in pull up pants... we kind of have a week, where he's not so constipated, and is ok to wear normal undies, which he just changes to PUP's to pooh in, then back in undies, then when it gets too bad he wears PUP's untill he eventually goes...

I'm worried that the kids at school will find out and take the mick, and he'll be forever known as the boy who wore nappies to school

And now i've completely hijacked your post ballynacargy

Sorry

It's relevant though as you are futher down the line than ballynacargy so have loads to share. Although I guess your ds having a more long term actual cause is a bit different as with loads of kids it's plain simple constipation.

The worry is the same though - mine starts in Sept and I'm convinced she'll never poo again, just have that pale face and red eyes and give the odd shiver as she holds...

Tell you what we used to do when dd was an hour on the potty waiting for poo Ballynacargy - and what we still do sometimes, like today....The Magic Cloth!!

So a bit of cloth with stars and moons on is tied to the door handle and to the loo handle like a tent and under she goes and I [like a berk] do a magic cloth flutter and sprinkle magic glitter and all that. It's poo poo magic!! Honest gov.

I think she prefers doing it under there as it takes the pressure off, I'm not allowed to watch at all these days.

Oh god - i know all about that!

B goes off to hide - anywhere you can't see him - to pooh. He did this in the peads office one day, and pead had a student in with him and got all excited that it was 'typical behaviour from a constipated child'

Can alos empathise with the hot and clammy bit - it;s so awful when you can;t help them, isn;t it?

Thanks for replies, been away for weekend so only checked mumsnet today.

Totally sympathise with Deemented the worry and stress we went through before we were prescribed Movicol by paed. and she was only bunged up for one week, she goes happily on 1 sachet daily and withholding only really kicked in again when we tried to reduce dosage on paed. advice to wean her off, so upped the dose again but now the potty training has again refocused her on withholding, she is making progess on peeing in the potty but "squirts" regularly daily, go through 4 5 pants a day and night time nappy.

Also waiting for appointment with "poo nurse" for tips on potty traing and as gold stars, treats and promises of teddies aint having any effect will try magic cloth!!

Have you tried getting them to blow into a glass of water through a straw? This can help with retraining the muscles that they need to use to push. Also, making sure they feel safe on the loo, e.g. with a child's loo seat attachment, a foot stool (really important for effective pushing!).

Also try going to the loo 20 mins after eating, taking plenty of fluids and lots of fibre in the diet?

Storied like 'The little mole...' (can't remember whole title, sorry, it's on amazon though it's a story about a mole with a poo on his head, VERY funny!) might be useful to get your child used to talking about poo and make it less taboo.

thanks coveredinsnot!! useful tips will try both the straw and book. Shes seeing poo nurse next week and is sitting on the potty trying to get poos to plop in but they are so soft and insubstantial that hardly any even leaves her bum! I'm thinking maybe too much movicol or lack of bulk, ie fibre. Many thanks for tips again.